After watching my kids open holiday presents and spend days laughing and chatting together before the fire and into the night on the edge of their beds, I found myself lost in reflection. Not just about the presents under the tree, the upcoming celebrations, or the 200-plus emails awaiting me at the end of vacation. I was also transported back to an earlier season of life: mornings somewhere north of midnight and south of 4 a.m., where my wife and I were knee-deep in empty baby bottles and soiled diapers, desperate to find a way to quiet a cranky child. Over the hours of holiday carols, phone calls to family, gift exchanges, and dinners, I thought about seasons where we had a house full of children—two young babies still in diapers and not sleeping through the night—to seasons of parenting three teens where four nights of “mini-dramas” turned into six, then ten, leaving us on autopilot waking up every “blursday,” barely able to lift our drooping eyes. I also have memories from 2024, when the youngest turned 11, and those three teens became adults driving and living on their own.
While the holidays are not always pretty and not always free from grief, they are always an opportunity to reflect on the years past and ponder the year ahead. Chances are you didn’t come here to read about dirty diapers, holiday memories, or a parent wishing they could turn back time. But if you work in Customer Experience, I’d like to offer some encouragement as we start 2025.
Seven New Year’s Encouragements
Remember what matters
My family and I celebrate the holidays each year, building traditions based on our faith and a desire to spend quality time together. Despite growing obstacles, changing family dynamics, and the demands of work, we carve out time for board games, gift exchanges, dinners, and moments with extended family. As we begin 2025, remember what truly matters. Yes, customers and excellent customer service are important, but family, loved ones, self-care, and love for your team are essential.
Savor the moments
In the United States, the commercial holiday season seems to begin in July, and faith traditions start in late November, but both have an ending. The seasons (holiday, nature, and otherwise) and the customer experience cycles will ebb and flow, so savor the moments. Cherish the moments of kind customers who express gratitude, the hard-fought solutions to challenging problems, and time spent with teammates, favorite customers, family, and friends. Take time to reflect on 2024 by considering:
- What were some of the biggest challenges?
- Where did you see your own personal growth?
- How did your team grow and evolve?
- What were the best cases of the year and why?
- What were some of the best customer experiences you created?
- What are you most proud of from the past year?
Be grateful
The start of a new year is an excellent time to reflect and find reasons to be grateful. Gratitude helps reframe challenges, refocus attention, and provide an antidote to negativity. Every year, a Customer Experience team has its fair share of challenges and problems. Across industries, every team encounters unexpected hurdles, but every team also has reasons to be thankful. Looking back on 2024, what are you grateful for? Consider adding to your gratitude list:
- People
- Problems solved
- Growth and learning
- Successes and failures (failures are a part of growth)
- Opportunities
- Family and friends
- New customers
- Old customers
- Former customers
All seasons end
In my family life, having six children spaced just so, the diaper season felt like it would never end. Just as one child was exiting the diaper phase, another was entering it. Despite the nights when it seemed never-ending, that season eventually passed. The same is true for seasons in Customer Experience. They won’t last forever. The season of dealing with fires and unwelcome surprises will give way to calmer times. The seasons where customers are extremely dependent will transition to those where they are frighteningly independent. No matter what season 2024 brought, remember: a new one is here. Keep doing the next right thing.
Be open to what new seasons will bring
While 2024 was likely filled with good moments and challenges, 2025 awaits new opportunities. Be open to what this season will bring. For some, personal promotions and growth, new customers and relationships; for others, it will bring overdue changes and challenges in both professional and personal spaces. Be open to what your customers will need this year, even if it differs from years past. Be open to evolving expectations in Customer Experience and the new bars of excellence that come with them.
Don’t waste the difficult moments
Even as we shared joyful holiday meals, my family and I reflected on the challenges we faced: three trips to our hometown in two days, a tornado watch after Christmas, major car repairs, and family members who couldn’t join us. Difficult moments are a part of life and Customer Experience. But they don’t have to be wasted. Use challenging moments to:
- Improve your level of service
- Practice conflict resolution
- Build deeper relationships
- Enhance team training
- Strengthen your character
- Learn more about yourself
Focus on the joy
Fatigue, leaky diapers, and broken bottle warmers were challenging. So were expensive car repairs and spending the first holiday without a loved one. Sometimes, we focus on problems to the detriment of everything else. In Customer Experience, we can remember the frustrating calls far more vividly than the ones that went smoothly. But as we turn the page on 2024, focus on its joys. Appreciate the gift of life, the support of loved ones, and the lessons from successes and challenges. Celebrate the fun and joyful moments and resolve to welcome even more happiness in 2025.
Here’s to embracing the opportunities, joys, and challenges of 2025 and making it a year to remember!